Friday, August 21, 2015

One of the most elegant belly dance props
ever is the shamadan. Spelled
phonetically in various ways, the shamadanis a large candelabrum balanced on top
of a dancer’s head, in a tradition unique to Egyptian dance. This beautiful
dance prop is historically used in the Egyptian wedding procession, or zeffah.
The Arabic word zeffah literally means “procession with noise”.

Me performing raks al shamadan, 1995 in Los Angeles

I became interested in Egyptian Raks Al
Shamadan at the very beginning of my belly dance career, and began
performing it early on. Not only was I attracted to the fiery beauty of
balancing a large candelabra on my head while I danced, the tradition
surrounding raks al shamadan is
fascinating. In my dance career, I have performed raks al shamadan at many theaters and night clubs, as well as at over
a hundred Egyptian and Arabic weddings. The traditional Egyptian wedding music,
"Zeffah Al Arousa" gives me goosebumps and makes me cry every time,
even if I have never met the bride and groom before bringing them in!

I've also performed this gorgeous dance at
the weddings of many belly dancers... one my favorite belly dance wedding
performances was for Jillina's nuptials, where a huge line of belly dancers
including myself, Neena and Veena Bidasha, Louchia, and many more all made the zeffah procession in ruby red and gold
costumes, playing our cymbals for all we were worth, and zaghareet-ing like a bunch of banshees! The other was for
Arkansas-based dancer Lena Regina, who was hosting me as a workshop instructor
for the annual event Shimmy Fest. The night before I left for Arkansas, she called
me at midnight to tell me that her and her boyfriend has decided to have a surprise
wedding...at the event, directly after the show! She wanted me to lead
the zeffah, so of course I did! Lena
was a beautiful bride in bright orange, and the whole crowd and all the
performers joined in the surprise wedding, it was pretty spectacular!

Performing non-traditional shamadan fusion, 2003

Now as in years past, a zeffah is a joyous
wedding parade, usually taking place at night, consisting of hired dancers
(with or without candelabras atop their heads) musicians, singers and family
members, winding through an entire neighborhood, taking the bride to her
groom’s house. In the years before electricity was used, dancers would balance
large, lit-up lanterns- and later specially made candelabrum- on top of their heads,
to illuminate the bride and groom’s faces during their first appearance as man
and wife. These dancers were hired, and depending upon the wealth or status of
the wedding party, there could be a large range of shamadan dancers, from just
one or two to many performers. Today, though outdoor zeffahs still occur
in Egypt, many are performed in hotels or rented banquet halls, making the
wedding procession much shorter in duration.

Raks Al Shamadan as part of the zeffah procession began in the
early 20th century. Prior to that time, the lighting for the zeffah was
provided only by long, over-sized, decorated wedding candles as well as by
illuminated lanterns ( klob in Arabic) which were carried by members of
the wedding procession. It is believed that the dancer Zouba El Klobatiyya (
also spelled in various ways) was the first performer to dance with a
lantern-or klob balanced on her head- hence, her name. If she wasn’t
actually the first dancer to perform with a lantern balanced atop her head, she
did at least become the first to gain recognition for it. She was followed in
quick succession by a Coptic Christian dancer, Shafiya El Koptyyia ( Shafiya
The Copt) who also performed this skill. Legendary Egyptian dancer Nadia Hamdi,
who is known the world over for her shamadan skills and floor work including
splits, is noted for her skills with shamadan, having been trained by the
original dancers, and is still in action today, preserving the tradition. As a
young girl, Nadia Hamdi learned the practice from observing Zouba El Klobatiyya
first hand, and then was formally trained in the tradition by her grandmother,
a contemporary of Zouba El Klobatiyya and Shafiya El Koptiyya.

Older versions of Egyptian-made shamadans
(even as late as the early 1990's) were fitted on the bottom with a slightly
inverted cup, which balanced by sitting on the on the crown of the dancer’s
head, a skill which took precision, grace and- usually- years of practice.
Today, most modern shamadans are constructed with an attached head band which
fits around the dancer’s temples. This beautiful dance prop is still used today
in the Egyptian wedding procession, or zeffah as well as in folkloric
and theatrical shows, and sometimes even incorporated into night club or theatrical belly dance routines.

1980's shamadan dancer in Egypt

For a brand new imported or Egyptian-made shamadan,
expect to pay anywhere between USD$100.00-$300.00 (as of this writing) outside
of Egypt. This is because they are all hand-constructed, and heavy to ship.
There are many different styles, some are extremely intricate, and others are
more utilitarian. Shamadans from Egypt are large and sometimes not
altogether stable the arms may move around, but this can be fixed with pliers
or by soldering or gluing them.

The
crown of the shamadan should have a
snug, almost tight fit around your head, resting just above the temples. If
your shamadan is too loose, it will
wobble on your head. It is easy to glue sponge rubber or some other type of
padding to the inside of the crown to prevent it from slipping around, and this
will provide you with a more comfortable fit.In fact, I even know some belly dancers whoshare theircandelabrumswith various troupe
members; in order toallow the shamadan to fit every gal, they actually
use self-stickmaxi pads inside the
headband, adding or subtracting the pads as needed!

Larger shamadans look very impressive,
but slightly smaller ones are more portable, and much easier to work with.
There are now even “collapsable” (portable) shamadans, though I have never used
one myself. Never leave a shamadan in your car or trunk for even a short
length of time- even the slightest heat in a short amount of time will melt the
candles! When traveling with a shamadan by car, lay it on it's side wrapped in
a towel, or strap it in with a seat belt. The crystals or beads and coins
decorating some shamadans can be repaired if the chains break with a jewelry
pliers or even, in a pinch, a regular set of tweezers. These crystals can also
be replaced by purchasing new strands at stores that sell lamps and lighting
fixtures. If the crystals get covered with wax drippings, remove them from the
shamadan , put them in a baggie and put them into the feezer for a few hours,
the cold wax will pop right off the glass, and they will be good as new.

After every shamadan use, clean out the
candle's drip-cups, or the wax will build up and be more prone to spill onto
your hair. You can either use a butter knife and pry the dried wax out, or you
can train a blow-dryer set to high heat on the wax drippings, which will soften
them up enough for the wax to be wiped away with a cloth. Since shamadans are
still constructed by hand, and candle sizes vary, some of the candle holders
may be loose- wrap your candles with tinfoil for a snug fit. Remember that
longer candles or long dinner tapers are also heavier, short emergency candles
look good and are lighter on your head, they're also cheaper than dinner
candles-remember, you're going to have to use at least nine, maybe twelve
candles. Even if a candle is "drip less", there's no such thing when
it's on your head! Make sure that you always keep a book of matches or a
lighter and extra candles with your shamadan, as well as a small craft pliers
for any chain or crystal repair or re-fastening.

An Egyptian shamadan - notice how some of the drip cups are tilted

When dancing at a wedding or on a stage,
avoid ceiling air-conditioning vents, as it will blow the hot wax onto you, all
over your hair and costume. Be careful of ceiling and doorway clearance, and of
course, be very wary of draperies. Also- makes sure to thoroughly check with
your venue and the local Fire Marshall concerning fire/open flame/insurance
laws. Many places do not allow open flames, or require performers working with
open flames to carry fire insurance. In this case, if you are un-insured, you
can purchase LED or battery-operated candles (from a craft shop or florist
supply store) but note that these candles will be much heavier and therefore
more difficult to balance.

As far as costuming goes, especially if you
aren't used to wearing a shamadan, don't select a costume to wear which
will allow the inevitable wax drips will show up ( because, believe me, wax will
be dripping!) and potentially ruin it.

Many balady or hagallah dresses
made in Egypt are made of netting, whichmake it easy to pick off the
dried, melted wax. Of course, these are best if you don’t want to stain your
costume. If you get a stubborn patch of
wax on your net costume, put it in a plastic baggie and placeit into the freezer overnight. The wax will
freeze andstiffen up, so that you’ll
just be able to pop the wax off with a flick of your finger! When using real
wax candles, don't light up until just before you're about to dance because of
the wax-drip factor. If you're not doing a zeffah (Egyptian bridal procession),
pick a slower song or a taxim, because dancing quickly with a shamadan negates
its stately beauty.